Gout

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first new prescription for gout in four decades, providing a boost to Deerfield-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc. The drugmaker said late Friday that its Uloric drug is another treatment option for the more than 5 million Americans who suffer from gout. Most doctors use older, generic treatments such as allopurinol. High levels of uric acid in the body are typically associated with gout, an...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What causes gout? I've had one attack and am not on any treatment but am watching my diet. Is it possible that I won't have additional attacks or need treatment for it, or is it likely to come back again? ANSWER: Gout is a form of arthritis that happens when sharp particles, called urate crystals, build up in a joint, causing severe pain, tenderness and swelling. As in your situation, treatment usually is not recommended after just one attack....

By Robert Shmerling, M.D., Tribune Content Agency and The Medicine Cabinet | January 1, 2014

Q: I recently had an attack of gout and my blood pressure went up. I take my blood pressure pills regularly. Are the two conditions related? Do drugs for hypertension cause gout? A: Gout is caused by a buildup of a normal waste product called uric acid. Gout develops when crystals of uric acid deposit in joints, causing a sudden and severe attack of arthritis. It's very common for people with gout to have high blood pressure, even if they are not taking...

(Repeats to fix typo in paragraph three) PARIS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Former French President Jacques Chirac was admitted to a hospital near Paris on Monday for examinations due to pain linked to gout, a source close to his family said. "It's not serious at all," the source said. "His leg has been hurting for two days, which is apparently related to an episode of gout that has caused him a lot of pain. " "He was transferred to the American...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Even relatively low levels of lead in the blood may be linked to an increased risk of gout, a painful form of arthritis, researchers reported Monday. Researchers have known that heavy lead exposure is linked to the condition - a form of arthritis in which the joints periodically become swollen, red and hot. Gout most often affects the big toe, though it can also strike the feet, ankles, knees, hands and wrists. But the new findings connect gout...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bad news for gout sufferers who enjoy drinking the fruit of the vine - new research finds that all types of alcohol, even previously exempt wine, can bring on attacks of the painful condition. "I don't want to sound too dogmatic and say, 'You must stop drinking,'" lead author Dr. Tuhina Neogi told Reuters Health. But, the Boston University rheumatologist said, "based on this study, I would counsel patients that any type of alcohol may...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Daily vitamin C supplements don't lower uric acid as much as drugs used to treat high levels of the acid that's responsible for gout, says a new study from New Zealand. "It's not that the vitamin C didn't reduce the uric acid level at all, it's just so small that it wouldn't make a difference from the patients' perspectives," said Dr. Lisa Stamp, the study's lead author from the University of Otago in Christchurch. Previous studies had found that people who eat...

By Joe Graedon, and Teresa Graedon, King Features Syndicate | January 2, 2014

Q: I am in my early 60s, but I've been hobbling around like an old man after a couple of bad bouts with gout. I have been on a prescription to treat it along with various other meds for high cholesterol and blood pressure. Several months ago, I felt my gout flaring up in my big toe. Instead of getting a new drug to treat this, I went online and read that drinking concentrated tart cherry juice every day can knock gout pain out almost overnight. I had a hard time...

When Jim Belushi's big toe first swelled up 15 years ago, he attributed it to jogging and let it slide. A year later, he suffered another flare-up, and when he went for his annual checkup his doctor told him he had gout. Gout? The so-called "disease of kings" that plagued aristocrats in the days of King Henry VIII? The condition that was a source of painfully funny comedy in "Laurel & Hardy" shorts more than 70 years ago? For the actor and comedian who grew up in Wheaton, it was...

By Robert Shmerling, M.D., Tribune Content Agency and Premium Health News Service | January 1, 2014

Q: I recently had an attack of gout and my blood pressure went up. I take my blood pressure pills regularly. Are the two conditions related? Do drugs for hypertension cause gout? A: Gout is caused by a buildup of a normal waste product called uric acid. Gout develops when crystals of uric acid deposit in joints, causing a sudden and severe attack of arthritis. It's very common for people with gout to have high blood...

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. drug reviewers said Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's drug to prevent gout flares worked, but questioned its side effects and whether it did enough to help patients. The Food and Drug Administration staff said the drug, called Arcalyst, was meant to be used for only 16 weeks to prevent gout flares -- the first treatment with such a limited timeline. The FDA staff review comes ahead of an advisory panel, which will vote on...

Oct 14 (Reuters) - U.S. biotech firm Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court on Monday and said it has agreed to sell most of its assets to Sloan Holdings CV for about $55 million. The agreement with Sloan, a unit of US WorldMeds LLC, would serve as a "stalking horse" bid in a court-supervised auction of Savient's assets, the company said in a statement. A stalking horse bid serves as the minimum offer for...

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Cherries may no longer be just for topping off ice-cream sundaes - a U.S. study of people with gout linked eating the fruit with a 35 percent to 75 percent lower risk of having an attack. Doctors have reported that some patients recommend cherries to prevent gout attacks, but the connection has only been studied a few times before, said lead researcher Yuqing Zhang, a professor at the Boston University School of Medicine. "These findings...

July 30 (Reuters) - U.S health regulators have denied approval to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc's experimental drug to prevent gout flares, dashing the hopes of the company of expanding usage of the drug that is already on the market for another indication. The agency requested additional clinical data, including additional chemistry, manufacturing and controls information related to a proposed new dosage form for the drug, Arcalyst, Regeneron said in a...